Bushmaster Bite

[BWSmith]

Monday, December 6, 2004



Canton man hoards poisonous snakes

Owner faces prosecution after a 9-foot Bushmaster bites him, cop says.

By Oralandar Brand-Williams and David G. Grant / The Detroit News








CANTON TOWNSHIP - Police discovered a deadly batch of 53 poisonous snakes in a home Sunday after their owner was bitten by one of them.
The 51-year-old owner of the snakes was in stable condition Sunday night at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

Canton Police Sgt. Rick Pomorski said keeping such snakes is not only against the law but also is dangerous to the public and the owner, who lived alone in the 2-year-old home near Sheldon and Palmer.

"Canton police view possession of venomous snakes as a serious public safety concern and will prosecute the owner to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

The incident began shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday in the home in the 3900 block of Brighton, when the 9-foot Bushmaster, which is native to rainforests of Central and South America, bit its owner while he was attempting to clean its cage.

He told police he put the snake into its cage and was driving to his daughter's house to help him to get medical treatment when he lost control of his vehicle and went into a ditch.

When he told officers he had been bitten by a Bushmaster, they rushed him to St. Mary's Hospital in Livonia and contacted the Detroit Zoo for an anidote, police said. He later was transferred to Detroit Receiving Hospital.

He told hospital officials about the other snakes and they notified police, said Canton Sgt. David Schreiner.

Schreiner said officers and a Detroit Zoo staffer Sunday went to the man's home and retrieved the caged Bushmaster, which was taken to the zoo. The other 52 snakes and four spiders found in the home were left in their cages because the zoo official did not have the means or equipment to transport them.

"We secured and locked up the house," Schreiner said. He said the man described himself as a collector of exotic snakes.

The man's collection of snakes is valued between $30,000 and $40,000, Schreiner said.

You can reach Oralandar Brand-Williams at (313) 222-2027 or bwilliams@detnews.com.

http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/04...etro-25366.htm


This is an excellent example of why to stay LEGAL. I did a little searching and while the keeping of venomous reptiles is completely legal in Michigan without a permit, his particular township has an outright ban on them.

Sec. 14-91. Possession of certain animals prohibited.
It is unlawful for any person to possess, harbor, breed, exchange, buy or sell any of the following exotic or wild animals:

(1) Poisonous reptiles, spiders and insects.

Of course, that prohibits ANY spider as well, as all are venomous. I would like to see someone argue the use of the term "Poisonous" in a defense.

It is a shame that he got envenomated, particularly by a freakin 9' Bushmaster! I, personally, would not clean the cage with the snake inside. But noone but him really knows what went wrong. Accidents happen. It is a shame and does not bode well for the venomous community. Hopefully he will make a full recovery.

[MustangRde1]

Brian I have know about this bite for a few days and there is alot that does not add up to the news story which is no suprise at all.

Schreiner said officers and a Detroit Zoo staffer Sunday went to the man's home and retrieved the caged Bushmaster, which was taken to the zoo. The other 52 snakes and four spiders found in the home were left in their cages because the zoo official did not have the means or equipment to transport them.

Now tell me this, if the the township has ordinaces against keeping poisonous errr { venomous} reptiles and called the zoo why was just the Bushmaster removed and not the rest of the collection. There is no way you can tell me for one secound a Zoo would send out a person or team not capable of removing a potential large collection of illegal snakes when that is why they were called. Though a bushmaster would be a great new attraction to thier collection and exhibits.

It always annoys me that the press reports the town does not allow venomous and forgets to add the state does allow it. Sooner or later someone will fight a local town ordinace with state law I would love to see the outcome of that as its State officers who normally are the agency that has to enforce wildlife laws. Who knows err need coffee

[John_White]

Now tell me this, if the the township has ordinaces against keeping poisonous errr { venomous} reptiles and called the zoo why was just the Bushmaster removed and not the rest of the collection. There is no way you can tell me for one secound a Zoo would send out a person or team not capable of removing a potential large collection of illegal snakes when that is why they were called. Though a bushmaster would be a great new attraction to thier collection and exhibits.

I'm actually surprised that the zoo accepted the bushmaster. The zoo's top priority is the well being of the animals in its collection. Animals brought in from an unknown source in an unknown state of health pose a risk to the animals in the zoo's collection. This risk can me minimized by strict quarantine procedures but this takes space, time, personnel and money which the zoo probably can't spare.

During the past several decades zoos have become more than just a place to see animals. Now a days most animals in zoo's are of known bloodlines, care is taken not to interbreed animals or pass on genetic defects. Accepting animals from unknown sources, in most cases is just not an option.

[JuliusSqueezer]

care is taken not to interbreed animals or pass on genetic defects.

Unless of course you are a white tiger! ...sigh...

It sounds like they hand picked the only thing he had that they wanted. If they didn't already have one, then quarantine should be fairly simple. For a free 9 foot bushmaster, I'm sure there are a few zoos around that would put forth a little effort.

[Ghroller]

Yup this made it to My news paper as well... I really hate hearing about this kind of stuff. Then People wonder why theres an out and out ban on exotics in many places

[Sips Mastha]

wow datz Suks!!

[knives0381]

i actually think i know this guy i remember a guy coming into the pet shop i used to work at. this in my opionion was a freak accident if it is the guy i am thinking of i've seen him hold some of his non venomous snakes that have some attatude wiht no problem...plus the papers usually try to make it sound like none of us are aware of the potential of the venom and the temperment and how to manipulate the snakes to avoid a bite of the snakes we all own.

[telefrag]

Originally Posted by JuliusSqueezer

Unless of course you are a white tiger! ...sigh...
It sounds like they hand picked the only thing he had that they wanted. If they didn't already have one, then quarantine should be fairly simple. For a free 9 foot bushmaster, I'm sure there are a few zoos around that would put forth a little effort.

what zoo wouldnt want a bushmaster?
Not exactly an animal you can buy at anytime from anyone.


50 something snakes worth around 40K?
he must have some Ermia or some other super rare asian vipers to be that costly of a collection.

[Rex322]

heh, i bet that hurt though

[dfreeman1313]

Originally Posted by MustangRde1

It always annoys me that the press reports the town does not allow venomous and forgets to add the state does allow it. Sooner or later someone will fight a local town ordinace with state law I would love to see the outcome of that as its State officers who normally are the agency that has to enforce wildlife laws. Who knows err need coffee

City and towns can adopt laws that are more stringent than State Laws. It's just like State Laws can be passed that are more strigent than Federal Laws. In this case, there's nothing to fight except to get that specific law repealed. I don't think it could be argued as Unconstitutional.

I could go for a cup of coffee myself right now!